


I've Seen You In My Dreams

by Brinxiethebear



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boss/Employee Relationship, Dreams, F/M, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:08:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29687184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brinxiethebear/pseuds/Brinxiethebear
Summary: Ever since he was a child, Tim knew there was something different about him. He didn’t dare tell others about it, though, out of the fear that they would call him crazy. But he knew he wasn’t crazy. All the signs pointed to something else, something unbelievable. Tim's dreams come true. Literally.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Tim Drake/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 62
Kudos: 251





	1. Chapter 1

Ever since he was a child, Tim knew there was something different about him. He didn’t dare tell others about it, though, out of the fear that they would call him crazy. But he knew he wasn’t crazy. All the signs pointed to something else, something unbelievable.

Tim had dreams, like most people, but sometimes his dreams showed him a small window into the future. An extreme case of déjà vu, if you will. The first time he ever realized this was when he was about four. He had a dream that he found his favorite teddy bear under his bed and oddly enough, Tim was ecstatic to find it.

Two weeks later, long after he had forgotten about this dream, his teddy bear went missing. He couldn’t find the thing anywhere—that is until he remembered the strange dream he once had. Young little Tim was skeptical at first but the moment he looked under his bed, there was his favorite toy.

Since then, dreams like this kept happening. Most of the time the things he saw were minor. He would dream about the toy he would get on his next birthday and would act surprised when he got it. He would dream about the time a kid in his school broke his arm on the playground. It was always minor things like this… until one dream changed his outlook.

Tim had a dream where he saw himself dressed in a Robin costume standing proudly next to Batman like he belonged. Batman even had a look of trust in the boy, oddly enough. Tim wanted so badly for this dream to be one of the ones that would end up coming true. At the time though, it seemed very unlikely.

Tim spend months afterwards learning everything he could about Batman. He searched high and low for any clues he could find. The only way he figured that he would make this dream come true is if he found out who Batman really was under the mask. He needed to prove to one of the greatest detectives on Earth that they were one in the same.

Obviously Tim was brilliant ever since a young age. When he set his mind to something, it didn’t take him long for his goals—or in this case his dreams—to come true. He pieced together that Bruce Wayne was Batman and of course Bruce took him under his wing. Even with all that trust between them, Tim still couldn’t bring himself to tell Bruce the truth. Even after Tim’s biological parents died and the billionaire took him in.

The next big thing he dreamed of was Jason Todd coming back. Bruce spoke so highly of the late Robin and Tim knew how much it hurt him that Jason had died. Especially at the hands of the Joker. Imagine his confusion when he dreamt of the Robin before him, fully alive and well and strangely enough, he was on some murderous rampage.

The dream came true, of course. He later learned that Jason felt betrayed by Bruce. He thought that Bruce gave up and quit looking for him. Bruce had no idea he was still alive though. How was he supposed to know that Jason was brought back by the Lazarus Pit? 

It all worked out though, after everything was explained. Jason wasn’t the same as he was before but no one could blame him. He went through literal hell and back just to find his way back onto the team with Bruce, Dick, Barbara and himself.

The dreams kept coming, obviously. Some more serious than others, like Joker breaking up with Harley and Harley having an absolute mental breakdown. In his dream he saw that Poison Ivy was the only person who could calm her down. Bruce thought it was ridiculous to bring Ivy into this but of course Tim was sure that was the correct action to take. Bruce was baffled that he was right, but proud nonetheless.

As time went on, Tim felt almost ashamed of himself over time. He knew he had an unfair advantage over everyone else in his team. Almost as if he was trying to even out the playing field, he slowly began to sleep less. The more time he spent awake, the less likely his future telling dreams would come. His family obviously worried for his lack of sleep but he knew this was better. In all honesty, he liked the surprise of not knowing the answer right away. Tim liked the aspect of deducing the right answer himself.

But Tim can’t stay awake forever. The dreams still came. Like the one where he saw a boy who looked just like an old painting of Bruce with his parents in the main hall of the manor, only instead of this boy having the steel blue eyes of Bruce, he had emerald green. That dream alone kept Tim up at night. He had no idea what it meant. That is until Dick brought around the same boy a year later and he ended up claiming that he was the son of Batman.

Bruce had no knowledge of his biological son, of course. The boy was kept secret from him for nine years by the boy’s mother, Talia al-Ghul. Unfortunately for the boy, whose name is Damian, he was raised by the League of Assassins. It took Bruce years and a ton of patience to train the urge to kill out of him. The kid was brainwashed into the leagues ways after all.

Life continued for Tim and the dreams kept coming, no matter how much he wished they didn’t. The worst thing he ever witnessed was the dream where he saw Barbara in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down. For the weeks to come, Tim kept an over watchful eye on Barbara while out patrolling. He hoped that this was the first time he could prevent his future telling dreams. He didn’t know that she would be attacked in her own home by the Joker. He thought for sure this would have happened while doing their nightly duties.

Tim felt guilty for months after that. He knew what was coming and said nothing. In the end, though, what could he have said? The truth sounds insane and he knew that. And his strange future telling was never wrong. Not once. That was when coffee became his best friend. Tim never wanted to see these kinds of horrors coming again.

You don’t always get what you want, unfortunately. Sleeping is a necessity, much to Tim’s distaste. Tim found that short naps were his best shot at avoiding dreams. Full, restful nights always led to dreaming, he found. But Tim isn’t perfect and dreams slip through here and there. None of them, thankfully, led to the horrors he once saw and he was thankful for his luck.

It was three months after Tim’s 20th birthday that he had another major dream. He couldn’t help it though. Staying up for 36 hours straight sometimes forced him to crash hard. And by hard he means a 12 hour sleep.

In this dream, Tim found himself standing at the end of an aisle with a crowd of people in seats looking back at him, some faces he recognized, like Alfred and Lucius, and some he didn’t. To his left were all three of his brothers all dressed in nice tuxes, all of whom were smiling proudly at him. To his surprise, Tim was wearing the nicest tux of all. To his right were three women, one being Barbara—who oddly enough was standing on her own two feet—and the last two were women Tim has never seen before, one a woman with reddish-brown hair and the other a blonde.

Music began to play and everyone stood up for the two people who came around the corner at the other end of the aisle. One was a very large, burly man who held his arm out to walk a beautiful young woman with him. The woman was wearing an elegant, all white wedding gown but that wasn’t what caught Tim’s attention. It was the woman’s face.

Her midnight blue hair was up in an intricate up do that accentuated all of her lovely features. Her bluebell eyes were bright and excited and the moment her eyes met his, they turned to an extreme look of love that nearly knocked Tim to his knees. No one had ever looked at him like that before.

Her enchanting, full lips smiled for him and his heart began to work at twice it normal speed. Her pale skin, which was a beautiful light cream color, suddenly blushed scarlet at the sight of him. Tim understood everything all at once. This dream was a wedding. His future wedding and this woman, whoever she was, was going to be his future wife.

“Is this what you saw?” A voice from behind him spoke into his ear and he immediately recognized the voice as Bruce.

Tim didn’t want to turn away from the woman but he knew he had to look back to Bruce. When he did, he saw Bruce standing just on the other side of the wedding arch Tim was standing under. He was smiling with pride at Tim and in his mind he quickly realized that Bruce was officiating this wedding.

Looking back to the beautiful woman, Tim opened his mouth to reply to Bruce but then was woken up by the sound of knocking at his door. He shot up out of bed and looked around, suddenly disappointed that he was only in his bedroom. This was the first ever dream he wanted to go back into.

“Master Tim,” Alfred said on the other side of the door. “Breakfast will be ready in 15.”

“…thanks, Alfred.” Tim eventually answered back.

Tim numbly went through his routine to get ready for the day. His mind was going wild with all of the things he saw in his dream. There was no doubt in his mind that he just witnessed a glimpse into his future wedding and at his future bride.

He knew for a fact that he had never seen this woman before. Her face wasn’t something he would glance at and not thing twice of. Her face was pure perfection in his mind. But other than the blaring fact that he needed to find this woman, there were other aspects of this dream that caught his attention.

Barbara was standing on her own two feet down at the bridesmaid side of the aisle. That made no sense to him. Barbara would never walk again. Her shattered spine made sure of that. So how was that even possible? It couldn’t be the Lazarus Pit. She swore that off a long time ago.

And then there was Bruce’s question. He asked if this was what he saw. Did Bruce know somewhere in the future that Tim would have this dream? That was a terrifying thought. After all this time Tim knows without a doubt that Bruce will be mad he kept this from him.

“Something on your mind, Timmy?” Dick asked, effectively pulling Tim out of his train of thought. “You haven’t touched your food.”

Tim hadn’t even realized he made it all the way to his seat at the table for breakfast. Shaking his head, he quickly took a bite of his food.

“You slept for 12 hours.” Bruce spoke up. “Maybe we should have let you sleep longer.”

Tim wanted to say yes because he wanted to see more of this strange future ahead of him but he knew that would tip them off.

“I think I slept for too long.” Tim said. “My brain is trying to restart.”

“You needed that rest, Tim.” Barbara said and Tim couldn’t help but to think about the fact that she will walk one day.

But then a thought came to mind. What if that had been just a regular dream? He’s had regular dreams before. Could his sleep deprived mind be only giving him images of what he wants and not the future? That was a saddening possibility. One he didn’t want to be true. But somewhere deep in his mind he knew he could tell the difference between a regular dream and a dream of the future. That was a dream of the future.

But he couldn’t take the chance of being wrong. “What I need is more coffee.” Tim said as he began to chug the coffee in front of him.

“Typical Timmy.” Jason laughed.


	2. Chapter 2

Four weeks went by and Tim learned nothing new about the dream he had. Though Tim had the face of the woman memorized, he couldn’t find her anywhere. Research on paralyzed victims showed nothing revolutionary and he obviously hadn’t told Bruce of his strange dreams. He hit a dead end and that upset him. Yet again another instance where he wished he didn’t get these dreams. It’s anxiety inducing, waiting for the future to become the present.

Although that was partially a lie. He was grateful for the dream. The beautiful woman’s face seemed to brighten his mood even though she wasn’t technically in his life yet. Clearly she was bringing good things with her if it meant Barbara would walk again sometime after meeting her.

“Tim.” Bruce spoke up as they were driving to work one morning. “Don’t forget our current assistant/receptionist will be going on maternity leave next week. You need to look through the resumes and set up some interviews by Wednesday.”

“I know.” Tim nodded. “I’ll work on it after lunch today.”

Tim was thankful that work kept him busy. It allowed him to think of something else other than this mystery woman, although he wasn’t happy about needing a new receptionist. The current one he had was really good at what she did and with a new hire coming in soon, there was always a learning curve. Also, any job that meant you would be close to the CEO’s of Wayne Enterprises meant there would be a lot of thorough background checks. There were a lot of people who wanted him or Bruce hurt or dead.

As promised, after lunch Tim got started on reading through the resumes. Many of them were boring and not at all impressive, although he couldn’t blame them. They were applying to be a receptionist/assistant. It’s not a job that requires a lot of experience.

Only one resume really stuck out to him and that was because of the strange things put on the resume. Instead of saying they worked in an office or something similar, this person put down that they graduated at the top of their class in fashion and design of all things. It was intriguing… and odd.

Further study showed that this person was from France and therefore bilingual. That was certainly a plus on their part but even stranger was who they put as references on the resume. Famous Parisian pop singer Clara Nightingale and Famous Parisian rock star Jagged Stone. Whoever this person was, they were fascinating. Her name was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Tim called the number to Jagged Stone, mainly because he was a bit of a fan. Any chance to talk to the man, even if it’s work related, was a good opportunity.

“This is Jagged.” The man on the phone answered in French.

Tim had to keep himself from fangirling as he replied in French. “Hello, this is Timothy Drake from Wayne Enterprises. I’m calling in reference to a Miss Dupain-Cheng. This number was a reference on the resume and I have a few questions for you.”

“Oh, so Nettie applied for the job after all? That’s great news!” He laughed. “What’s your question?”

“You are Jagged Stone, correct?”

“The one and only!” Jagged said.

“And how do you know Miss Dupain-Cheng?”

“Nettie designed a few album covers of mine and a few items of clothing as well.” He chuckled. “She’s very rock and roll.”

“Cool.” Tim smiled before remembering why he called and suddenly went serious. “It says here that she has a degree in fashion and design. Do you know why she’s applying to be an assistant/receptionist?”

“Nettie is in a bit of a slump.” Jagged said sadly. “Sometimes a beautiful soul gets lost in the world, you know? She wanted to try something new in a new place and Penny, my wife, suggested this to her. After all, that’s how Penny found me!” He laughed. “Anyways, Nettie is the best. She’s very smart and creative. You’d be missing out if you looked past her.”

“Okay. Thank you, Mr. Stone.” Tim smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind. By the way, how is her English? It says here she’s bilingual but with English not being her first language that’s always worrying.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Jagged said. “Nettie’s smart, like I said. Her English is even better than Penny’s and that’s saying something. Penny is amazing.”

“That’s good to hear.” Tim nodded. “Thank you for talking with me today.”

“It’s not a problem. Hey if that’s all, I gotta get back to bathing Fang.”

“That’s awesome!” Tim said before clearing his throat. “I mean… have a nice day.”

“Rock on!” He said before hanging up.

Tim went through the motions with all of the other resumes but he kept being pulled back to the one of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Technically speaking, she had no experience in this field but he ended up going through with accepting her into the interview phase.

He hoped she would show even though he wouldn’t be the one to be directly interviewing her. That was below his paygrade. Even still, he was the one to ultimately decide who would be hired. He would look over the videotapes of the interviews and pick the best fit.

Tim picked seven people who would be interviewed, including the oddball that was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The interviews were on Wednesday and Tim knew to expect the video of them all late Wednesday afternoon so he pushed all that to the back of his mind as he went through the week. The thing that was in the forefront of his mind was this mystery woman in his dreams.

Work went on and at nights, patrols went on. Things were back to normal, relatively speaking, and like always, everyone was none the wiser about what really went on in Tim’s head. Tim was thankful that his family always thought he was scheming. Technically he always was but his mind always drifted to the not so unknown future.

Come Wednesday afternoon, Tim sat down at his work desk and opened up the email of all the interviews. The first five were typical, with everyone answering the questions in typical ways. No one stood out but they all seemed competent enough.

It wasn’t until the sixth interview that Tim froze in his seat at the woman at the interview table. To his glorious surprise, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the oddball interview, was the woman he had been looking for for over a month now. He was suddenly happy and shocked at the same time. He was happy that she was finally in his life and shocked at how beautiful she was. There was no way he was going to marry this woman someday. Surely there was a mistake.

“Can you please state your name?” The interviewer said just off camera.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” She spoke with a sweet voice and a radiant smile.

“Thank you, Miss Dupain-Cheng.” The interviewer spoke and he almost sounded bored.

Tim wondered how anyone could be bored by her. She was intriguing and beautiful in every sense of the word and he hadn’t even spoken to her yet.

“I’m just going to ask a few questions and I want you to answer them as honestly as possible, okay?” The interviewer said.

“Okay.” She nodded brightly.

“First of all, why did you decide to apply for this position?”

Tim was on the edge of his seat, exited to hear the answer to this completely mundane and ordinary question.

“That’s a funny story, actually.” Marinette said. “I’m sure you know, because it’s on my resume, but I went to school for fashion and design. But it’s harder to get a decent job in that field then you might think. I was beginning to lose hope and a friend of mine said that trying something new might help me. She said it might give me a sense of clarity. She had the strangest idea to put on a blindfold and throw a dart at a map and just go. The dart landed on Gotham, of course.” She giggled and it sounded like music to Tim’s ears. “My other friend, Penny, helped me look for jobs here while I searched for an apartment. I’ve been doing commissions until I find a stable job.”

“You came to Gotham randomly?” The interviewer asked, sounding a bit appalled. “Do you realize how dangerous this city is?

“Yes.” Marinette said grimly.

“O…kay.” The interviewer moved on. “What would you say is your greatest strength?”

“Oh, that’s easy.” She smiled. “I’m observant.”

This made Tim smile. So she considered herself observant like he did? It made him happy to know that there were similarities already.

“Care to elaborate?”

“Sure.” Marinette said. “When I meet new people, I tent to pick up on things about them and if I can help it, I try to comfort them if they are sad or upset. I like to think I have a good read on people and their emotions. I pick up on other things too, though. Like you for example.” She leaned forward across the table. “You were trying really hard not to put too much weight on your left foot when you walked me here. Did something happen to it?” She asked so sincerely and it made Tim smile.

“Oh…” The interviewer was quiet for a moment. “I just sprained it last weekend playing basketball. It’s nothing to worry about. But onto the next question.” They said quickly. “What is your greatest weakness?”

“Hmm…” Marinette sat up straight and Tim automatically leaned in towards the screen to get a better look at her. “I plan too far ahead and then when I find out that plans don’t go my way, it always upsets me. It’s like me and my degree in fashion and design. I thought for sure after getting my degree everything would be easier after that. I’d get a job and…” She trailed off, looking a bit sad. It pained Tim to see it. “Anyways, that’s why I’m changing things up. My plans weren’t going the way I thought so why not try something new?”

Tim kept her interview playing as he pulled up the extensive background check on the woman. He listened to how many words per minute she could type and all of the other typical interview question as he began to learn all he could about her. 

Tim smiled to himself as he found out more and more about her. She is just over a year older than him and obviously she has a love for fashion and design. He found that she’s an only child who grew up in a small bakery back in Paris. Something odd he found was that her friend’s back in her high school days called her their “everyday Ladybug.”

Tim faintly remembers Ladybug from a few years back. He’d never met her but she was one of those super powered heroes of Paris who suddenly disappeared when the villain of Paris went away. It was an anticlimactic ending to the fight between Ladybug and Chat Noir, and Hawkmoth. It was finally peaceful though and that meant the Justice League no longer had to worry about the Paris threat spilling over into other parts of the world. He wondered if being an everyday Ladybug meant she was a good person. By the context it had to of been.

He also found it strange that throughout all the years of her social media, not once did she reference an old boyfriend or girlfriend. How was it that a person so lovely could stay single? She’s had to have had some sort of romantic relationships in her life at some point.

“Tim.” Bruce suddenly stepped into his office and Tim quickly closed out all the windows on his computer he had open that was about Marinette. “Hollie just went into labor. She’s obviously done for the day. Are you done looking through all the interviews?”

Technically, Tim had one more but he already knew that whoever that person was wouldn’t get the job, no matter how perfect a fit they might be. He found the person he was looking for.

“Yes, I‘m done. I was about to email the person that they got the job.”

“You got the file of the person open right now?” Bruce asked as he closed the door behind him and began to walk to the desk. “Who did you pick to replace Hollie?”

Tim panicked for a moment but hid it by taking a sip of his coffee, which was now too cold. As he did this, he pulled up the file on her and tried to look unbothered as he turned the screen towards Bruce.

Bruce read over the file with a blank expression before clicking play on the interview. Tim couldn’t help but to watch in interest again as the interview played. He liked seeing her face and hearing her voice. It was enthralling. He still found her intriguing.

It took Tim a moment to realize that Bruce had stopped watching the interview and was now instead watching his expression. Tim was horrified when he realized that he had been smiling like an idiot at the interview and he quickly brought his face to a neutral expression, but it was too late. Bruce already had an eyebrow raised at him.

“And why did you choose to pick this young lady?” Bruce asked.

“She seems the best fit.” Tim said it like a well delivered line of an actor. He said it too well.

“Oh really?” Bruce smirked. “The one person interviewed with absolutely no office experience is who you think is the best fit?”

“…yes.” Tim said.

“I don’t believe that for a second, Tim.” Bruce stared blankly at him. “What’s the real reason?”

Tim stared back at Bruce for a moment before looking back to the screen where Marinette’s interview was still playing and was at a loss for works. Whether he was at a loss because of the situation he was in or at a loss because he was looking at her face, he wasn’t sure.

“Tim.” Bruce said and this snapped his attention back to the billionaire. He was no longer looking at him with a blank expression but with a knowing smirk. “You like her.” Bruce said matter of factly.

“Uhh…” Tim didn’t know how to respond to that.

“You know work place relationships are very frowned upon.” Bruce said. “That tends to slow down the workers production and productivity.”

“I won’t be lax on my duties.” Tim defended.

“Hmm…” Bruce nods in thought. “I hope you’re right.” He then begins to walk towards the exit.

Tim was surprised by the blatant go ahead to hire this woman. He wasn’t about to complain though. Without wasting another second, Tim sent the confirmation email to the literal woman of his dreams.

Work ended shortly after and the ride home with Bruce was almost painfully awkward in Tim’s eyes. He could see Bruce periodically look over at him to assess his facial expressions. Tim obviously kept his face neutral though. He already had one big slip up; he wasn’t going to make it two.

They were pulling into the garage by the time Bruce finally spoke up. “Are you going to talk about her?”

Panic swelled inside Tim but he knew how to keep cool in situations like this. As calmly as he could, he turned to face Bruce. “What do you mean?”

“Act calm all you like Tim but I know you better than you think. She’s clearly caught your attention.” Bruce then opened the door to get out of the car and Tim followed suit. “So are you going to talk about her or not?”

“I’m not sure what I would even say.” Tim sighed before opening the door for the two of them to step inside the manor.

They were both immediately greeted by Alfred the moment they stepped inside. “Welcome home Master Bruce, Master Tim.”

“Thank you, Alfred.” Both Bruce and Tim said at the same time.

“But Tim,” Bruce continued. “You might feel a little bit better if you talk about her.”

Tim didn’t miss the way Alfred’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of some mystery woman. It made him sigh. “She’s… intriguing. That’s the best way I can describe it… and beautiful too.”

“A young woman has caught your attention, Master Tim?” Alfred asked.

“A what?!” Jason sounded off from down the hall. He came running up to them seconds later. “Did I hear that right? Timmy likes someone?”

Tim frowned and looked up at Bruce accusingly. This was clearly his fault.

“Well, Timmy?” Jason asked.

“Yes, Jay.” Tim lightly shook his head. “Go ahead and get it all out now.”

“Woah!” Jason quickly wrapped an arm around Tim. “What’s her name? Where did you meet her?”

“I haven’t met her… officially.” Tim shrugged. “Her name is Marinette.”

“Not officially?” Jason asked at the same time Barbara came rolling into the room.

“What’s everyone yelling about in here?” She asked.

“You’ll never guess!” Jason smiled widely at her. “Timmy has a crush on someone.”

“Really?” Barbara smiles sweetly at Tim. “She must be quite something to have caught your eye, Tim.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” Tim finally cracks a smile. “How about I tell you all about her at dinner, when Dick is home?”

“Lovely idea, Master Tim.” Alfred nods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really need to learn to finish a story before I start a new one... I can't help myself sometimes.


	3. Chapter 3

This was the most excited Tim has ever seen his family for dinner. Well all except Damian, of course. It made him anxious to talk about this woman he was only supposed to know about today. He couldn’t really say he saw her face over a month ago.

When they sat down for dinner it took Dick less than a second to start asking questions.

“Babs texted me everything. You have a crush on someone?” Dick said.

“Her name is Marinette, apparently.” Jason spoke up. “And he hasn’t met her officially… whatever that means.”

“Tell us about her, Tim.” Barbara smiled.

Everyone at the table looked to Tim in complete interest. Even Damian, who usually showed no preference to conversations like this, was looking at him expectantly. A bit annoyed, but still expectantly.

“She… applied for a job at WE. She’s going to be Bruce and I’s receptionist/assistant.” Tim looked down at his plate and took a bite out of the first thing he saw.

“Oh.” Jason smirked. “Are you going to try and romance your future assistant? That’s very scandalous, Timmy.” He laughed.

“I… well.” Tim looked up at Bruce to see that he was staring at him with an unreadable expression. “The workplace is for working. Doing something like that wouldn’t be professional.”

“So your gunna what? Act professional around her?” Jason asked. “How’s that going to work out for you Tim?”

“I can’t be lax while at work.” Tim defended, still watching Bruce’s expression. He wouldn’t say it to himself but he craved his adopted fathers acceptance, whether that’s while at work or at home. He had it already and he knew it but he didn’t want to lose it.

“Well.” Dick smiled. “I know you know more about her. If you find something even remotely interesting you research it to death. What did you find out about her?”

“What Dick means is how badly did you stalk her?” Jason smirked.

“I’m not a stalker.” Tim said with a frown.

“My bad.” Jason chuckled. “Cyber stalker then.”

“I was her potential employer. Anyone we may choose to hire has to go through extensive background checks. It’s not cyber stalking.”

“Call it whatever you want.” Jason shrugged. “Just tell us what you learned.”

Tim sighed and looked down at his food again. “It’s like I told Bruce. She’s intriguing and beautiful.”

“How so?” Dick asked in encouragement.

“She… said in her interview that she’s observant and plans too far ahead. And she’s caring. Everything I’ve learned about her points to that. Any opportunity to help a friend or even a stranger, she’s going to take that opportunity so fast. And apparently she’s a little lost, according to Jagged Stone.”

“She knows Jagged Stone? Aren’t you a big fan of his?” Barbara asked.

“Yes.” Tim nodded before quickly continuing. “She’s from Paris and got a degree in fashion and design. It wasn’t working out for her though and randomly chose Gotham to come to so she can start over with something new, hence the application for WE. She’s an only child who lived in a bakery her whole life and her favorite color is pink.” Tim suddenly began to speak quicker as all of his thoughts spilled out of his head. “She’s got these bluebell eyes that pull you in at first sight. It’s like some strange gravitational force you don’t even want to escape from… and then there is her smile. The first time I saw it I didn’t know how to breathe momentarily. It’s like a ray of sunshine that broke through these cloudy days that always hang over Gotham. And her laugh.” Tim smiled. “It’s like music. And her concern for others? Inspiring. Again, she’s intriguing. I’ve never known a person to literally blindfold themselves and throw a dart at a map and just… move. And that leaves me with questions. Like why? And in the interview she looked sad for a moment there. I don’t understand how someone so radiant could be so down.” Tim looked up to see that everyone was staring back at him in shock.

“That was… oddly poetic, Tim.” Dick smiled.

“You sound like a lovesick puppy.” Damian scoffed. “Maybe everyone is right. You do need more sleep.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tim snapped.

“I’m starting to think you have gone insane. The lack of sleep has gone to your brain and now you’ve become infatuated with a woman you have never even met.” Damian snapped back.

“This has nothing to do with a lack of sleep!” Tim defended. “And I’m not infatuated!”

“Could have fooled me.” Damian rolled his eyes.

“Damian!” Bruce barked.

Everyone snapped their attention back to the billionaire.

“You will not invalidate Tim’s feelings, no matter what you think of them.” Bruce said in a calmer tone before looking back to Tim. “But I have to admit this does surprise me Tim.”

“I may have surprised myself.” Tim began to dig at his food again so he could avoid the eye contact of everyone around him. He had never gone on a long spiel about a person that way before. He was beginning to finally understand the depth of his feelings for her and it surprised him.

“Hey, but you’ve got me interested in meeting her now.” Jason said in a cheerful tone.

Panic swelled at the thought of Jason being interested in her. He didn’t like it. “But I saw her first.”

“Woah.” Jason put his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not an asshole, Timmy.”

Tim sighed in relief before cracking a smile at Jason. “I would hope so.”

“What are you going to do at work on Monday?” Barbara asked. “That’s her first day, right?”

“Well I have to be professional at work.” Tim didn’t like that idea but he knew it had to be true. “I’ll treat her like any other employee.”

“Are you sure about that, Timmy?” Dick asked.

Tim’s eyes wondered back to Bruce and found that unreadable expression again. Life would be simpler if he knew what he was thinking. “Yes.” 

“Okay… if that’s what you think is best.” Dick said.  
\---------  
Tim kept himself very busy so he wouldn’t find himself anxious for Monday. The weekend went on as usual with patrol being the busiest those days. The distraction was always welcomed. He knew though that come Monday, Marinette would be arriving to work early for instruction about her job. He wanted to go to work early too but he knew better.

Marinette’s job would be simple, all things considered. Answering phones, transferring calls and checking emails and fax. That was the receptionist part of the job though. The assistant part was a little more involved.

Tim knew he was particular about some things. Every morning his assistant would hand him a fresh cup of coffee that was always in the same mug. It was his favorite mug and he liked his coffee one way. Hot and black. He knew this would be thoroughly ingrained into her head during her early morning training and he wondered if this would make her think he was some stuck up boss. If only they could have met outside of work…

It was also Marinette’s job to refill his coffee every two hours on the dot. That job was easy. Enter as quietly as possible, take his mug to refill it and then bring it back quietly. That, he wasn’t so worried about. The fact that he would get to see her so often excited him.

She also had the simple job of bringing Tim and Bruce’s lunches to the break room when they were brought up to the top floor. He wondered for a moment if she could have lunch with him but quickly realized that wasn’t really allowed. Hollie, the receptionist before her, always had lunch at her desk. Lunch is too long for that desk at the very top floor to be empty.

It was important that that desk be occupied as much as possible. After all, you can’t let people roam free on the top floor of WE were the only offices of the CEO’s are. The receptionist keeps an eye on who comes in and out of the elevators and would be the first one to hit the silent emergency switch if anything or anyone were to come up to the top floor that didn’t belong.

“Are you sure you can act professional around this woman?” Bruce asked as they were driving to work. “You look a little wound up.”

“You know I can be professional, Bruce.” Tim said flatly.

Bruce only left it at that.

WE looked very busy just like it does every Monday morning. The elevator ride up was swift and silent. Tim had to force himself to take steady breaths as the doors opened for them to step off onto the top floor.

He caught sight of her standing just to the left of the reception desk holding his favorite mug in hand and it took everything in him to keep his feet moving at a steady pace and his face devoid of any emotion. He was supposed to be the professional boss and that’s what he was going to be.

Tim looked away from her face before she looked up at him but that short glance was all he needed to take her all in. She was wearing business attire—a deep grey pencil skirt with a long sleeved red blouse. Her hair was straight and hung just past her collarbones and her eyes were bright, like she was excited to be here. Her smile seemed to brighten the room and made his heart work in overtime.

“Good morning.” She said cheerfully.

Both Bruce and Tim nodded towards her in acknowledgment.

As Tim got close to her, he remembered last second to take the cup of coffee from her hands. As he took it, his fingertips brushed against hers and it felt like an electric shock run through his entire body. His perfectly serene face cracked in that moment but only for a fraction of a second and he hoped that she didn’t see it. He then walked straight into his office and only then did his face show his true emotions.

He smiled from ear to ear, somehow on some strange high from her touch. He nearly skipped to his desk and had to stop himself from laughing out loud, he was so happy. Taking a sip of his coffee, he smiled even brighter. It was hot and black just as he liked it but somehow it tasted even better to him. Was it because she was the one who made it? He wasn’t sure.

Tim promised he wouldn’t be lax so he made sure he got his work done although he couldn’t stop himself from keeping an eye on the clock for her two hour mark. He hoped she wouldn’t forget seeing as this is her first day. He didn’t want to have that conversation with her. And thankfully, he didn’t have to.

Two hours on the dot, Marinette came in as silently as possible. Tim tried to look busy on his computer but really he was only watching her from his peripherals. She seemed to walk with purpose and confidence that made her even more unearthly beautiful. Confidence is sexy, he realized. And then way too quickly, she was out the door with his mug she took from his desk.

Tim stayed completely still as he waited for her to come back. It felt like forever to him but it was only three minutes. She walked with the same confidence as before and set the mug where she first found it. When she turned around, Tim finally got the courage to look at her.

“Marinette.” He said without realizing and she immediately stopped in her tracks to look at him with a bright smile.

When her eyes met his, suddenly that feeling of gravity sunk in. Every single part of his body screamed at him to stand up and walk over to her—to smile and reach out for her hand. He wanted to hear her laugh and to ask all of the questions swimming around in his mind. But he couldn’t.

“Thanks for the coffee.” He said after too long of silence.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Drake.” She said with an even brighter smile before walking off.

Tim stared at the door she just left through and pondered the strange mixture of feelings he had at the moment. The fact that she had finally talked to him made him ridiculously happy. And the way she smiled? His heart was still racing from that. But something about her simple sentence upset him.

She called him Mr. Drake. Not Tim or Timmy or even Timothy. The formality of it was… wrong in Tim’s mind. He didn’t like it. At all. But then realization hit him and remembered that she was his employee. That’s what all of his employees called him and that was the professional thing to say to him.

The rest of the work day carried on and always right on time, Marinette came back for the refills. Lunch was even waiting for him in the break room come lunch time. She certainly did her job well and he was grateful for that. Bruce wouldn’t be able to complain about hiring this woman just based of the fact that he liked her.

When he got home that day, all of his family bombarded him with questions at dinner.

“So how’s your plan to be all professional with Marinette working out?” Jason asked with a smirk.

“Fine.” Tim lied.

“Learn anything new about her?” Dick smiled.

“She’s a good worker.” Tim shrugged. “She did her job well.”

“Did she really or is Timmy biased?” Barbara looked to Bruce with a smirk.

“No she handled her job very well.” Bruce nods and Tim has to sigh in relief even though he already knew this to be true. “She didn’t stammer when answering or transferring calls and she was very punctual. She was very professional.” Bruce glanced over at Tim.

“Did you even talk to her?” Jason asked.

“Yes.” Tim nods.

“What did you say?” Barbara asked excitedly.

“I thanked her for the coffee.”

“Wow…” Jason lightly shook his head. “And how long do you think you can keep up this charade until you crack and finally try and actually talk to her? Timmy, I know you aren’t shy. It’s not like you are intimidated by pretty women. Why are you doing this?”

“I kinda agree with Jason here.” Barbara said. “You’ve made it very clear that you like her. Why ARE you doing this?”

“It’s like I said.” Tim glanced at Bruce and found him only staring back, seemingly waiting for his reply. “I have to be professional at the workplace.”

Everyone else at the table looked over at Bruce as well like they wanted him to say something. Bruce only went back to quietly eating his food, though, unbothered by the stares.


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the week went by uneventful. Every morning that Marinette handed him his coffee, Tim made sure to not touch her again even if he badly wanted too. All throughout the day he would chant to himself, “Be professional.” It was like his new catchphrase at work. He was bound and determined to not break this promise to Bruce.

But the thought of this magnificent woman being his bride someday always brought her to the forefront of his mind. It was like fighting against gravity, trying to be professional with her. He wanted to be his genuine self around her and he felt like he was robbing himself of his own joy not doing that.

Every day his family would ask about her and he never had anything new to share. But he couldn’t help but to share his feelings about her from time to time with them. He knew his rants were starting to annoy Damian and Jason, but for two totally separate reasons.

The weekend passed yet again and it was onto the second week of the tiresome charade of being professional around the girl he liked. It felt to him like it was draining the life out of him. Every time she would cheerfully say good morning to him it was beginning to feel like a kick in the gut. It would be a good morning if he could just be himself.

It was maybe an hour and a half in on that Monday morning when everything changed though. Tim was preoccupied with emailing a potential investor when the silent alarm coming from Marinette’s desk just outside went off. His computer automatically pulled up the surveillance camera facing her desk and Tim watched on in confused shock.

The scene before him was strange. Marinette stood on the left side of her desk to block a woman from walking any further. At closer inspection, Tim saw that the woman had a switchblade knife in her hand and was sending a hateful glare towards Marinette.

“It’s your fault I didn’t get this job, you bitch!” The woman yelled.

Tim was about to race out to rescue Marinette but the calm determination of her face stopped him short. She wasn’t scared and that intrigued him.

“Ma’am, this is your last opportunity to leave.” Marinette said coolly. “Security has been called. If you surrender now they might not press charges.”

“Fuck you and your security. Because of you, now I can’t fulfill my end of the bargain!”

Tim let out a gasp when the woman brought her hand back to get ready to stab her. But much to his surprise, Marinette was quick thinking. She ducked under the blow and in one swift movement; she reached out for the woman’s outstretched hand and twisted it in the opposite direction. The woman screamed in pain at the same time the knife clattered to the floor.

“Ma’am.” Marinette stepped back with an utterly calm face. “Please stop. Security should be here any second.”

The woman said nothing more and instead drew her good arm back for a punch. Marinette easily swept her legs out from under her before the woman had the chance to cock her arm all the way back. Following her to the ground, Marinette swiftly put one knee to her gut and the other to pin down her good hand.

Tim finally freed himself from his shock and ran for the door as fast as he could. He was immediately met with Bruce doing the same as him in the hallway. They both made it to Marinette at the time she was hopping off of the woman, only the woman now had a bloody and crooked nose and was clearly passed out. He missed something crucial in the few moments it took to get here.

Marinette looked down at the knuckles on her right hand and frowned. That’s when Tim saw the busted middle knuckle on her hand. She apparently punched this woman VERY hard.

“What happened?” Tim asked.

Marinette jumped in surprise and quickly hid her bloodied hand behind her back as she turned to look at them. Her eyes held surprise but she was still utterly calm.

“Oh, uhh.” She smiled awkwardly. “This woman tried to attack me with a knife.” She pointed to the woman passed out on the floor.

“Why?” Tim asked again.

“I’m not really sure. She said I didn’t deserve this job and that it belonged to her. She said I ruined some end of a bargain she made.”

That was when Tim recognized the woman. He remembered watching her interview tape a few weeks ago but she was nothing impressive in his book. Apparently this job is very important to her though and whatever bargain involved being his assistant couldn’t have been good.

“She didn’t hurt you, did she?” Tim said to try and get a better look at the hand she was hiding behind her back.

“The knife never touched me.” Marinette pointed to the knife on the floor with her good hand. “I got it out of her hands before she could do anything. I already hit the button for security.”

“We’re aware.” Bruce said as he began to walk over to the passed out woman. Marinette quickly stepped behind her desk to let him through. “You broke her nose… and her wrist.” Bruce looked up at Marinette quizzically.

“I know.” She said shamefully while looking down at her feet. “I’m sorry.”

Tim didn’t like that she looked so down. He began to step forward automatically to comfort her but stopped. “Don’t be sorry.” He said instead. “She could have killed you with that knife. You did the right thing.”

“Oh… okay.” Marinette smiled up at him and he felt winded by that small act. He found her literally breathtaking.

The sound of the elevator opening forced the two of them to look away towards the sound. Four security guards came marching into the lobby looking for the cause of trouble. When they found the woman on the floor, they looked up at Bruce in shock.

“Mr. Wayne, are you alright?” One of the security guards asked.

“I’m fine.” Bruce said. “Take this woman downstairs and hand her over to the police when they come. She tried to attack my employee with a knife.”

“Yes sir.” The security guard said as two others began to cuff and drag her towards the elevator. “Did you happen to take this woman down?”

“No.” Bruce said before suddenly turning around and heading back towards his office. As he was walking away he said, “Tim, why don’t you help her out with that?”

Tim smiled to himself as he looked over to Marinette and automatically stepped up to her. He knew what Bruce was referring to. It was her lightly injured hand. Marinette wasn’t paying him any attention though and was instead watching the security guards disappear behind the elevator doors. When she turned around, she seemed startled by his sudden closeness.

“Let me see it.” Tim asked softly as he held his hand out to her.

“See what?” Marinette asked breathlessly.

Her breathlessness confused him, but instead of dwelling on that, he took her hand hidden behind her to get a better look. He forgot what the sensation of touching her was like and he had to force himself to breathe evenly as he looked over her hand. He could see from his peripherals that she was looking him just as closely as he was looking at her hand.

Her injury wasn’t bad though. He knew that as long as he cleaned it and wrapped it up, it would heal no problem. He had everything he needed to do just that inside his office.

Tim gently rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand almost reflexively before realizing what he was doing and quickly let go of her hand. He almost forgot where he was.

“Come with me.” Tim waved her forward as he began to walk back to his office.

It took a moment but he could eventually hear her footsteps following behind him. He held his door open for her and she smiled at him before stepping inside, which caused him another wave of rapid heartbeats. After shutting the door, Tim made his way over to his desk and sat down in his chair before digging through his side drawer for the first aid kit. Setting it on the table, he looked up at her from where she stood on the opposite side of his desk.

“Come here.” Tim said softly and waved her over.

She looked puzzled for a moment before quickly making her way around his desk to stand a few feet away from him. Without even thinking, Tim reached out for her hand and pulled it close to his face, causing her to stumble closer to him. He looked up at her to apologize but found her blushing scarlet instead. He had instant flashbacks of the vision of their future wedding and the words got stuck in his throat. Tim quickly occupied himself with staring at her hand again to get his thoughts straight.

“This might sting a little.” He eventually said but it came out barely above a whisper.

Though Tim never looked Marinette directly in her face as he cleaned her hand, he watched her in his peripherals. She never flinched once while he cleaned her hand. Instead, she had this strange look of admiration and concentration. Yet again, she intrigued him.

Tim almost wanted to frown when he finished wrapping her hand up. He liked the feeling of her hand in his. Her touch somehow spread warmth throughout his entire body. It was the most pleasant feeling in the world.

“There.” He reluctantly let go of her hand. “All better.” Tim finally looked up at her. “You must have hit her very hard. You would have thought you hit a brick wall.” He jokes.

“Oh, well…” Marinette looked at her hand for a moment before cradling it close to her chest. “I got a little angry, I’ll admit.”

“Why?” Tim asked. What he had seen from the surveillance video, she was completely and utterly calm.

“She kinda tried to spit on me.” She shrugged.

“She what?!” Marinette jumped at his sudden raised voice and Tim automatically felt bad. “Sorry.” Tim whispered.

“No, I’m sorry.” Marinette frowned.

“Why do you keep doing that?”

“Doing what?” She asked, clearly confused.

“Apologize for something you shouldn’t.”

“Well…” Marinette stared at him for a moment before looking down at her hands. “I’m supposed to be a receptionist and an assistant. It feels very unprofessional of me to break a woman’s nose and wrist while I’m here.”

Tim had so smile at the irony. She didn’t want to be unprofessional? How ridiculous.

“Hey, can do me a favor Marinette?” Tim asked when she seemed to be frozen in place by his smile.

“Yeah…” She whispered. “I mean yes sir.”

“Don’t apologize for defending yourself. I don’t care if you are at work or in a church or just walking down the street.” Tim wanted to reach up to grab her hand but stopped himself. “Okay?”

“Okay, Mr. Drake.”

“And one more favor?” Tim smiled.

“Yes?” She asked breathlessly.

“Please don’t call me Mr. Drake… or Sir.”

Marinette’s face quickly turned to confusion. “What should I call you then?”

“Just Tim is fine.”

“Okay.” She said before breaking into another heart pounding smile. “I can do that. You know you look a little young for me to be calling you that anyways.”

“Thank you.” Tim smiled back. “And maybe I am? You are a year older than me after all.”

“I am?” Marinette asked. “Wow, you must be some kind of genius then.”

“Technically speaking, yes.” Tim shrugged. “But it feels a bit egotistical to spread that around.” He grinned.

“Well your secret is safe with me then.” She grinned back.

They stay there for a moment, just smiling at each other. Tim’s mind was filled with wordless happiness as they did this but then Marinette suddenly looked over to the other side of the desk and quickly stood up straight.

“Oh!” She said as she began to walk around the desk.

“Where are you going?” Tim asked, feeling a bit dejected.

She quickly picked up his mug off of the desk and lightly shook it. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

“Oh.” Tim sighed in relief that she wasn’t running away from him.

“I’ll be right back, Tim.” She waved as she exited the room.

The sound of his name on her lips had him on cloud nine. He began to absentmindedly put away the first aid kit as he waited for her to come back. When she did, she practically danced her way to his desk to set his coffee down. He hoped it wasn’t his imagination but she seemed happier somehow. He hoped she was. Their first real conversation had him happier than he’s been in years.

“I guess I got to get back to work.” Marinette grinned. “Mr. Wayne is out in the lobby talking to an officer. I’m sure I’ll need to be questioned.”

Tim tried not to panic at the sound of Bruce talking to an officer. He knows for a fact that that officer is Dick. And Marinette and Dick talking might not be the best thing.

“Okay.” Tim managed to say coolly.

As she exited, Tim pulled up the surveillance video of the lobby. Bruce and Dick were whispering quietly to each other when Marinette made it back to her desk and sat down. Tim didn’t miss the excited face Dick made when he saw Marinette coming.

“Hey, I’m detective Dick Grayson.” He held his hand out for Marinette to shake. “Bruce here told me what happened.” He then took notice of her bandaged hand he was shaking. “You got hurt?”

“No, not really.” Marinette smiled. “I just punched her too hard.”

“Yeah, Bruce said you were the one to take her down.” Dick studied her bandage a little bit longer. “Did Timmy patch this up for you?”

In that moment, Tim so badly wanted to throw something at Dick. He didn’t even last a whole minute without name dropping him.

“Timmy?” Marinette asked with a bit of confusion. “I mean, yes. Tim did it. How’d you know?”

“That’s got Timmy written all over it.” Dick grins. “He always does things in a particular way.”

“Oh.” Marinette nods, still a bit confused.

“Dick here is one of my adopted sons.” Bruce clarified.

“Oh. That makes sense.” She smiled brightly.

“You know,” Dick rested his arms on the reception desk with an easy going smile. “Timmy has told me a lot about you, Marinette.”

Tim froze as a cold wave of panic washed over him.

“He has?” Marinette asked in genuine confusion.

Tim took this opportunity to run out of his office to stop any more from being said. He didn’t know how he was going to stop it but he was.

“…serious. He talks about you all the time. Right, Bruce?” Dick was saying as Tim approached.

“Dick, don’t you have a job to do?” Tim quickly said to end the conversation. Marinette looked back at him, suddenly startled by his appearance.

“I’m just being friendly, Timmy. The woman was just attacked with a knife.”

Tim noticed Marinette looking at him quizzically but he kept his face on Dick. “I know.”

“Which I guess leads me to some questions I have to ask.” Dick looked back down to Marinette. “This woman, do you know her?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’ve only seen her one time before today and that was the day of my interview. We never even spoke. She really wanted my job, though, for some bargain she was making.”

“Well it couldn’t have been a good bargain if it involved getting this job.” Dick huffed.

“My thoughts exactly.” Tim said. “I’ll email over her interview so you can review it.”

“Thanks. I’ll be sure to question her when she wakes up and is cleared by the doctors.” Dick smiles as he glances between Tim and Marinette.

Tim knew that Dick was trying to communicate something very obvious to him. His eyes were screaming that he should go and talk to her. He wanted to so badly. Looking over at Bruce, Tim found him staring blankly back at him. It almost frustrated him. But in that split second, everything changed.

Tim decided that fighting against gravity wasn’t worth it. This façade he put on just for work didn’t matter anymore. Bruce is a forgiving person after all and if he would be upset by this choice (which he wasn’t completely sure he would be) Tim knew he wouldn’t be upset for long.

Without a second thought, Tim leaned down just beside Marinette’s face where she sat at her desk and whispered into her ear. “Will you come with me?”

She looked up at him in surprise but didn’t flinch away at his sudden closeness. She did however blush scarlet and smile. “Of course.” She whispered back.

“Great.” Tim smiled before reaching around her to her desks’ phone and taking it off the jack to sending all incoming calls straight to the ground floor. He realized a bit too late that he was very, very close to her. She blushed even deeper and looked questioningly at him. “We wouldn’t want your phone to ring and there’s no one here to answer it.” He then quickly stood up straight to no longer lean over her.

“Okay?” She whispered before slowly standing up.

As she was standing up, Tim registered the look on everyone’s faces. Dick seemed to be over the moon with what he was doing. Bruce on the other hand was watching him with complete interest—like he was observing a captivating show. Tim didn’t know how to take that.

When Marinette was completely out of her chair, Tim took her hand without thinking twice. He wanted to laugh at the magnificent look of pleasant bewilderment on her face. She didn’t pull away from him and that was exciting. He wanted to know what that meant.

She gave him a brief look of confusion when he walked her past both Dick and Bruce to go over to the elevator. Tim didn’t want to talk to her where there were so many cameras though. Especially the ones so easily accessible to his family. He also didn’t miss her curious glances back at the two men as they left.

“Where are we going?” She asked when noticing Tim press the button for the ground floor.

Tim looked over at her, completely willing to answer but then remembered that someone might be listening. He looked up at the top corner of the elevator to where the camera was and Marinette looked up with him. She seemed to understand though and only smiled back at him, not questioning him any further.

When the doors opened again, Tim began to take her towards the back exit of the building where the private parking garage was. As they walked, people stared at the two’s joined hands in passing. This was probably the strangest thing anyone in WE has seen coming from him.

Stepping into the parking garage, Tim smiled to himself when Marinette’s jaw dropped at the car they were approaching. He had to admit the Aston Martin was a bit ostentatious. Tim opened the passenger door for her and she hesitated for a moment as she looked in.

“This is your car?”

“Technically it’s Bruce’s.” Tim shrugged. “But I drive it more often than he does.”

“Am I allowed to even be in this car?” She looked worried.

“Yes, Marinette.” Tim laughed. “Why else would I be holding the door open for you?”

“Okay.” She finally smiled before ducking into the car.

Tim had to force himself to walk at a leisurely pace to the drivers’ side. He had never wanted to leave work as badly as he did at this very moment. Never in his life had he ever accelerated out of WE as fast as he did then and he could tell his rush registered in Marinette’s mind. She kept eyeing the speedometer.

Way faster than he should have gotten there, Tim finally came to a stop when he made it to the destination he was after. They were at the docks on the east side. This dock had been abandoned for years now and so he knew no one would bother them here.


	5. Chapter 5

Ever since she got her Miraculous, Marinette got these intense gut feelings. Not the kind of gut feeling that told you not to go down dark alley at night. No, they were the kind of gut feelings that told you to be at a certain place at a certain time. They were specific and always led to great or important things. It was the Ladybugs luck. One of the many powers that being the true Ladybug Miraculous holder granted.

One such example would be the day her gut told her to go to the park. It was a simple enough urge but the same day that she went she found twenty dollars in the grass. She looked and looked for anybody who lost any money, but she came up empty.

Another example would be the day she just knew to go to her friend Alya’s house with her sewing kit. When she got there, she found Alya crying in the bathroom. She apparently was getting ready for a date when she ripped a hole in her new dress. Marinette fixed it up right away and saved Alya’s date.

Then there was this one day where an anonymous message was found on Ladybug’s yoyo. It said it was from Hawkmoth and told her and Chat Noir to meet up at an abandoned factory in the outskirts of Paris. Instead of being worried like she should be, she felt an overwhelming sense that this would end well. Her gut told her to go there with no plan at all, which was odd for her. And so she and Chat Noir went.

There, in the middle of the abandoned factory, were both the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous sitting on top of a letter. Her gut feeling was right, of course. There was no need to worry. It all ended well, if not a bit anticlimactically. The note read this;

“Dear Ladybug and Chat Noir,  
I’m sorry for all the trouble I have caused. I should have never gone down this route. It led me to a dark, dark place but I’ve found the light. I’ve found love again and I know now that what I have done is wrong. I don’t want to be Hawkmoth any more. I want to start over and so I will. I know you may believe I deserve a harsh punishment, and maybe you are right, but all this time I was only looking for happiness. Well I’ve finally found it and to my surprise, I didn’t need the Miraculous to get there. If only I had known that happiness was right in front of me all this time.  
And so I leave the Miraculous to you, where they belong and I’m sorry it took me so long to realize. I’m also leaving Paris. That is a part of my plan to start over. Might I suggest you leave the city too, as soon as you are able. There are people out there worse than I that would kill for the Miraculous. Lingering won’t do you any favors.  
I wish you the best of luck,  
Hawkmoth and Mayura.”

The following weeks changed a lot for Marinette. A few days after the relief of Hawkmoth being gone, she had a gut wrenching feeling that something bad was going to happen and her gut was never wrong. That’s when she got the news that Adrien was leaving. Her long time crush was moving away and all her future plans for after she confessed crumbled to dust. Not long after the news, Chat Noir gave up his Miraculous to her.

She graduated high school soon after that and like her gut always told her, she went to school for fashion and design. Life was quiet and boring after that. The only gut feelings she got were minor things, like being at the right place at the right time. Nothing revolutionary.

And so Marinette was in a slump. She graduated college and her gut told her nothing. She had a new degree and was doing the same things she was doing before she got it. She just wasn’t moving forward like she hoped. And of course Tikki noticed.

“Marinette,” Tikki said one day. “Why don’t you do something spontaneous? Start over new in a new place. Take Hawkmoth’s advice and leave Paris. He wasn’t wrong when he said there are bad people out there looking for the Miraculous. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find a bit of purpose and clarity again.”

And then Marinette got a gut feeling. She went to the store and bought a world map and some darts. When she got home, she taped the map to her wall and took a few steps back. She closed her eyes and threw a dart. When her eyes opened, she found her dart stuck smack dab in the middle of Gotham. That’s when she felt good things coming her way.

It took a few months and a lot of help from Penny to get everything sorted, but soon enough she was on a plane to America. Her gut told her to apply for a job at WE as an assistant /receptionist. She wasn’t sure why but her gut was never wrong. She didn’t even bother applying anywhere else. Of course she got the email to go in for an interview.

And then it was the day for the interview. A random Wednesday morning. She knew she had this in the bag but she was still nervous. She had never done a job like this before.

Marinette got ready in her new run-down apartment and made her way to WE with some time to spare. Her email told her to give her name to the ground floor receptionist and to go from there, and so she did.

“Okay, Miss Dupain-Cheng, make your way up to the fifth floor and wait for your name to be called.”

Marinette did as she was told and for whatever reason, her gut was screaming at her that she was in the right place. It gave her a strange mixture of happiness and giddiness. She still needed to thank Tikki for sending her in the right direction. Spontaneity was what she needed.

Marinette took a seat in a waiting room filled with six other women, all of whom were no doubt interviewing for this job as well. One after the other, the other woman’s names were called. Marinette took notice that the man who would call them back seemed to have trouble walking on his left foot. She resisted the urge to help him though, but only because her gut told her not to.

And then it was finally Marinette’s turn. She followed the limping man back to what looked like an empty conference room and took a seat where the man told her to, which was across from a camera on a tripod. The man pressed record and took a seat next to the tripod.

“Can you please state your name?” The man asked.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Thank you, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I’m just going to ask you a few questions and I want you to answer them as honestly as possible, okay?”

“Okay.” Marinette nods.

“First of all, why did you decide to apply for this position?”

“That’s a funny story, actually.” Marinette said. “I’m sure you know, because it’s on my resume, but I went to school for fashion and design. But it’s harder to get a decent job in that field then you might think.” She lied. She was just bored of the same old thing. “I was beginning to lose hope and a friend of mine said that trying something new might help me. She said it might give me a sense of clarity. She had the strangest idea to put on a blindfold and throw a dart at a map and just go.” Marinette lied again. She didn’t want to say that her gut told her to do that. It sounds a bit weird. “The dart landed on Gotham, of course.” She giggled. “My other friend, Penny, helped me look for jobs here while I searched for an apartment. I’ve been doing commissions until I find a stable job.”

“You came to Gotham randomly? Do you realize how dangerous this city is?” He asked, a bit appalled.

“Yes.” She said grimly.

She remembered back when she told her parents that she was going to move here. They thought she went crazy mainly because she had no real good answer on why she wanted to move. She couldn’t tell them that her gut told her too. They asked her not to go here specifically because it was so dangerous but if there was one thing Marinette could do, its handle danger. Eventually she loosened up her parents. They still weren’t that thrilled she was leaving though. It was a bit far for their liking.

“O…kay.” The interviewer said, effectively cutting off her train of thought. “What would you say is your greatest strength?”

“Oh, that’s easy. I’m observant.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Sure.” Marinette said. “When I meet new people, I tent to pick up on things about them and if I can help it, I try to comfort them if they are sad or upset. I like to think I have a good read on people and their emotions. I pick up on other things too, though. Like you for example.” She leaned forward across the table and gave him a comforting smile. “You were trying really hard not to put too much weight on your left foot when you walked me here. Did something happen to it?”

“Oh…” He went quiet for a moment. “I just sprained it last weekend playing basketball. It’s nothing to worry about. But onto the next question.” He said quickly. “What is your greatest weakness?”

“Hmm…” Marinette though about that for a moment. “I plan too far ahead and then when I find out that plans don’t go my way, it always upsets me. It’s like me and my degree in fashion and design. I thought for sure after getting my degree everything would be easier after that. I’d get a job and…” She trailed off, looking a bit sad. She thought about her failed future that she had planned with Adrien. She was foolish to think it would all work out like that though. It was just a high school dream. But that’s why she was here. To start over with something new. “Anyways, that’s why I’m changing things up. My plans weren’t going the way I thought so why not try something new?”

And so the interview went on and soon enough, Marinette went home. She was told she would get an email from the CEO if she got the job. She couldn’t help but to periodically check her email as she made lunch that evening. Her gut was just telling her to, and of course she got her email she was waiting for. Work started on Monday and she danced around her kitchen with Tikki in excitement that night.  
\---------  
She was told to show up to work early on Monday for instruction and so she did. They taught her how to answer the phone and transfer calls. They taught her everything about faxing and how to greet people coming up to this floor. But the main thing they pounded in her head was the CEO’s coffee.

Timothy Drake was very particular about his coffee. She was to have a hot cup waiting for him every morning and it had to always be in the same mug. She wondered if he thought the mug was lucky or if he just favored it. She was also told to refill it every two hours and to enter and exit as quietly as possible.

In the break room, where she makes the coffee, there was written instructions on how to make the perfect cup of coffee. She made the coffee as carefully as possible and waited by her new desk for her boss to arrive.

As if on cue, both the CEO’s exited the elevator right on schedule. Marinette saw Bruce Wayne first. Her first though was that he was bigger than all of his pictures led him to be. He was wearing a nicely tailored suit and he had a strong, angular face. He was almost intimidating.

But then she saw Timothy Drake. He was wearing a nicely tailored suit, just like Bruce, but he was a whole lot shorter. He was still taller than Marinette, though, and he had a muscular frame. His dark hair was relaxed and parted down the middle and his face was somehow devoid of any emotion. Still, Marinette found him ridiculously handsome. Maybe it was because his eyes were a magnificent and a clear blue color. She found him beautiful.

Marinette quickly smiled and held out the coffee as he approached. “Good morning.”

Both of the men nodded in her direction in acknowledgment and as they passed and Timothy Drake took the coffee from her at the last second.

As he did this, his fingertips touched hers and for a split second and a warm electric current ran through her body. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not but she swears she sees his facial expression change for a moment to show a bit of surprise. Was it possible he felt it too? She couldn’t tell.

And then he was gone, leaving her feeling dumbfounded by her desk. It took her a moment but she eventually made her way back to her chair and sat down to start doing her job. As she did this, she eyed the clock, giddy for her two hour mark. Her gut was telling her that something amazing was happening.

Marinette almost skipped her way to Mr. Drake’s office on her two hour mark. She was so excited. She had to steady her breathing for a moment before she quietly opened the door. She walked as confidently as she could up to his desk but her eyes never left his face.

He looked to be concentrating very hard on something. This look of concentration was admirable. And then his hair fell into his eyes and her stomach was full of butterflies. Something about that made him look a bit younger and somehow even more beautiful. He looked so inviting.

And then she forced herself to pick up his mug and walk out. Her head was swimming with images of his face as she was making his new cup of coffee. Could he be the big picture for why her gut told her to come here? She had no way of knowing but she hoped so.

When she came back into his office, she was quicker to set his coffee down and turn away. Marinette took two steps before he finally spoke up.

“Marinette.”

Marinette eagerly turned around to meet his eyes and suddenly she was in some sort of trance. It was like gravity. Every part of her body was screaming at her to go to him and to smile and take his hand but her gut told her to wait. She hated it but she listened to her gut. Her gut was never wrong, after all.

“Thanks for the coffee.” He said and finally the trance was broken.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Drake.” She said with a smile.

And then she forced herself to walk away. By the time she made it back to her desk she was almost hyperventilating. She was reminded of a rainy day back in high school when she first realized her crush for Adrien, only this time the feeling was one hundred times stronger. She was literally weak in the knees.

But sadly for her, that was the only time he ever talked to her that week. Every morning she would say good morning to him and he would barley even nod at her. She so badly wanted him to look at her every time she brought him coffee but he never did.

Her gut just kept telling her to wait, though, and so she did, much to her own distaste. It was really testing her patience, though. Every time she saw those intense clear blue eyes, she wanted to swoon but she kept herself together.  
\---------  
One week had past and it was Monday again. Just like at the days prior, Marinette greeted her bosses with a cheerful hello and handed Timothy his coffee. She frowned to herself after her bosses were gone but her gut told her that today was the day. Something was bound to change.

Marinette felt the danger in her gut before she had even got off the elevator. There was a woman, maybe in her late 20’s, and she came stomping up to her desk in a rage.

“So you’re the bitch who got this job, huh?” She asked.

That’s when Marinette recognized her. She sat next to her in the lobby when she was waiting for her interview.

“Did you bribe your way here? Or did you flirt with that creep who interviewed us?” She continued.

“Ma’am, I have no clue what you are talking about. Now if you don’t have an appointment then I’m going to have to ask you to please leave.”

“Oh, I’m not leaving.” The woman said before pulling out a knife from her purse.

Marinette immediately hit the silent alarm and stood up, making her way to the left side of the desk to make sure she couldn’t go down the hall towards the CEO’s.

“It’s your fault I didn’t get this job, you bitch!” The woman yelled as she seemingly sized up Marinette.

“Ma’am, this is your last opportunity to leave.” Marinette said calmly. “Security has been called. If you surrender now they might not press charges.”

“Fuck you and your security! Because of you, now I can’t fulfill my end of the bargain!”

That was when the woman brought her hand back to get ready to stab but Marinette was a step ahead. She easily ducked under her blow and on her way up; she reached out for the woman’s still outstretched hand and twisted it in the opposite direction. She yelped in pain at the same time the knife clattered to the floor. 

“Ma’am.” Marinette sighed, knowing she accidently broke her wrist. “Please stop. Security should be here any second.”

The woman said nothing more and instead drew her good arm back for another blow. Marinette let out another small sigh and quickly swept her legs out from under her before she even had the chance to cock her arm all the way back. When she fell to the ground, Marinette followed after her and put one knee into her gut and used the other to pin her good arm down.

“Ma’am just please stop.”

The woman sent her a hateful glare and spat at Marinette. She easily dodged the spray but that was her last straw. Losing her patience, Marinette puncher her hard in the face three quick times. Satisfied that she was out, she hopped off of her and looked down at her knuckles, frowning when she noticed that her middle knuckle was busted.

“What happened?” Timothy suddenly spoke up behind her.

Marinette jumped at his sudden appearance and quickly hid her hand behind her as she looked over to him with a calm face.

“Oh, uhh. This woman tried to attack me with a knife.” She pointed to the woman in question.

“Why?” Timothy asked.

“I’m not really sure. She said I didn’t deserve this job and that it belonged to her. She said I ruined some end of a bargain she made.”

Marinette watched as Timothy looked over to the woman and then back to her with concern. “She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

“The knife never touched me.” Marinette pointed to the knife with her good hand. “I got it out of her hands before she could do anything. I already hit the button for security.”

“We’re aware.” Bruce said matter of factly as he walked over to the passed out woman.

Marinette stepped behind her desk to give him more room and she notices the curious gaze Bruce gave the woman before looking back to her.

“You broke her nose… and her wrist.”

“I know.” Marinette looks down at her shoes in shame. “I’m sorry.”

“…Don’t be sorry.” Timothy suddenly spoke up. “She could have killed you with that knife. You did the right thing.”

“Oh… okay.” Marinette smiled at him and as their eyes met, she felt that strange sensation of gravity again. She almost reached out to him but then she remembered her busted knuckle and stopped herself.

And then the sound of the elevator opening brought her attention somewhere else. She looked over at it and found four security guards come marching out. When they looked over at the passed out woman on the floor, they looked up at Bruce in shock.

“Mr. Wayne, are you alright?” A security guard asked.

“I’m fine.” Bruce said. “Take this woman down stairs and hand her over to the police when they come. She tried to attack my employee with a knife.”

“Yes sir.” The security guard said while two others begin to cuff and drag the woman off. “Did you happen to take this woman down?”

“No.” Bruce said simply before beginning to walk off. Before he got too far down the hall he said, “Tim, why don’t you help her out with that?”

Marinette didn’t know what he meant by that but she decided instead to occupy her mind with watching the security guards leave. Suddenly, she had this intense gut feeling to turn around and when she does, she finds Timothy mere inches away from her. She gasps but mainly out of awe. He’s so beautiful up close.

“Let me see it?” He asks softly as he holds his hand out to her.

She was confused and a bit breathless by it all. “See what?”

He doesn’t answer and instead takes Marinette’s hand. Her heart goes wild for a moment before realizing that he is studying her busted knuckle. Marinette is a bit taken aback by the concentration of his face. She could get used to being this close to him.

And then he began to rub his thumb across the back of her hand and she struggled to breathe evenly. She struggled to do anything, really. She could barely stand. But then he suddenly dropped her hand and she could think again.

“Come with me.” Timothy said as he began to walk off toward his office.

It took her a moment but she finally began to follow after him. He held the door open for her and she barely managed to smile at him as she walked inside. Timothy shut the door behind them and made his way over to his desk and began to dig around in a side drawer. After he found a first aid kit, he set it on the table. He looked up at her from where she stood on the opposite side of the desk and gave her a warm smile.

“Come here.” He said softly as he waved her forward.

Marinette was confused for a moment before scrambling her way around the desk to stand a couple of feet away from him. He suddenly reached out for her and pulled her close which caused her to stumble a bit.

Timothy looked up at her, as if he was going to apologize, but instead only stared. Marinette immediately blushed at their closeness and she swears she sees a bit of lust in his eyes for a moment but then he occupies himself by looking down at her hand again. Yet again, her heart was going wild.

“This might sting a bit.” He whispers.

But Marinette didn’t really care about her hand. She was too busy watching Timothy work. His eyes held a beautiful intensity and when his hair fell into his eyes again; her butterflies went crazy in her stomach. She never wanted this soft little moment to end.

“There.” He finally said and Marinette wanted to frown when he let go of her hand. But then he smiled and he made it all better. “You must have hit her very hard. You would have thought you hit a brick wall.” He jokes.

“Oh, well.” Marinette smiled at Tim’s handiwork before cradling her hand to her chest. “I got a little angry, I’ll admit.”

“Why?” He asked.

“She kinda tried to spit in me.” Marinette shrugged.

“She what!?” Timothy yelled which caused Marinette to jump. “Sorry.” He whispered with an apologetic smile.

“No, I’m sorry.” Marinette frowned.

“Why do you keep doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“Apologize for something you shouldn’t.”

“Well…” Marinette looked at him and found genuine curiosity in his eyes but also… something more? At least that’s what her gut was telling her. “I’m supposed to be a receptionist and an assistant. It feels very unprofessional of me to break a woman’s nose and wrist while I’m here.”

Timothy genuinely smiled like what she had just said was funny somehow and that smile froze Marinette in place. If she thought he was handsome before, she was sorely mistaken.

“Hey, can you do me a favor Marinette.” He finally said to break the silence.

“Yeah…” She whispered breathlessly before remembering where she was at. “I mean yes sir.”

“Don’t apologize for defending yourself. I don’t care if you are at work or in a church or just walking down the street. Okay?”

“Okay, Mr. Drake.”

“…And one more favor?” He smiled.

“Yes?” Marinette asked breathlessly.

“Please don’t call me Mr. Drake… or Sir.”

Marinette felt a little confused by the sudden request. “What should I call you then?”

“Just Tim is fine.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “I can do that. You know you look a little young for me to be calling you that anyways.

“Thank you.” Tim smiled back. “And maybe I am? You are a year older than me after all.”

Marinette was genuinely surprised by that. “I am? Wow, you must be some kind of genius then.”

“Technically speaking, yes.” Tim shrugged. “But it feels a bit egotistical to spread that around.” He grinned.

“Well your secret is safe with me.” She couldn’t help but to grin back.

And then they stayed that way for a moment, just smiling at each other. Marinette found herself really enjoying Tim’s company. He was incredibly pleasant to be around. But then she remembered where she was and what she was supposed to be doing and looked over to Tim’s empty coffee mug.

“Oh!” She said as she began to walk around the desk towards the mug.

“Where are you going?” Tim asks and she swears he sounds a tiny bit sad.

Marinette picked up the mug and lightly shook it. “I’ve got to get back to work.” She smiles.

“Oh.” Tim sighs in what Marinette thinks is relief.

“I’ll be right back, Tim.” She waves.

When she walks out of Tim’s office, she looks over to her desk and sees Bruce talking with an officer. She knows that she’ll have to talk to him too so she is quick to refill Tim’s coffee. Even still, she finds herself even more happy than normal as she brings him his coffee back.

Marinette gives him a smile before setting down his coffee mug. “I guess I got to get back to work. Mr. Wayne is out in the lobby talking to an officer. I’m sure I’ll need to be questioned.”

“Okay.” Tim says.

Marinette smiles at Tim again before leaving. As she is taking her seat at her desk she notices that Bruce and the officer are speaking to each other in hushed tones.

“Hey, I’m detective Dick Grayson.” The officer holds his hand out to shake. “Bruce here told me what happened.” He then looked at the bandaged wrapped around her injured hand in interest. “You got hurt?”

“No, not really.” Marinette smiled. “I just punched her too hard.”

“Yeah, Bruce said you were the one to take her down.” He studied her bandage a little bit longer. “Did Timmy patch this up for you?”

“Timmy?” Marinette was confused for a moment before connecting the dots. It was a nickname. She wondered for a moment how this detective knew Tim. “I mean, yes. Tim did it. How’d you know?”

“That’s got Timmy written all over it.” Dick grins. “He always does things in a particular way.”

“Oh.” Marinette nods, still a bit confused on how they knew each other.

“Dick here is one of my adopted sons.” Bruce clarified.

“Oh.” Marinette smiles. “That makes sense.”

“You know,” Dick gave Marinette an easy going smile as he rested his arm on her desk. “Timmy has told me a lot about you, Marinette.”

“He has?” Marinette felt confused. Why would Tim talk about her at home?

“Yep.” Dick grinned. “He talks about you almost every night.”

“Really?” Marinette couldn’t help but to smile.

“Yeah. I’m serious. He talks about you all the time. Right, Bruce?” He looked up at the billionaire for confirmation.

But then Tim suddenly spoke up from behind Marinette and she quickly looked over at him. “Dick, don’t you have a job to do?”

“I’m just being friendly, Timmy. The woman was just attacked with a knife.”

Marinette didn’t really pay Dick any attention though. Her mind was too occupied with the thought that Tim actually talked about her.

“I know.” Tim sighs.

“Which I guess leads me to some questions I have to ask.” Dick looked to Marinette and she finally brought her attention to him. “This woman, do you know her?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I’ve only seen her one time before today and that was the day of my interview. We never even spoke. She really wanted my job, though, for some bargain she was making.”

“Well it couldn’t have been a good bargain if it involved getting this job.” Dick huffed.

“My thoughts exactly.” Tim said. “I’ll email over her interview so you can review it.”

That’s when Marinette remembered that Tim was the one who decided to hire her. Tim was the one who reviewed her interview tape. What had he seen that made him hire her? She didn’t know.

“Thanks.” Dick said. “I’ll be sure to question her when she wakes up and is cleared by the doctors.”

Marinette nodded along with what Dick said but took notice of the strange way he was looking between both her and Tim. It was like he was trying to communicate something but she didn’t understand why he was trying to say with his eyes.

But then Tim suddenly whispered into her ear, “Will you come with me?” and Marinette’s heart was racing all over again

“Of course.” She whispered without a second thought.

“Great.” Tim smiled before reaching around her to grab the phone of its jack. If she didn’t know any better she would have thought he was trying to hug her from behind. She blushed and hoped he couldn’t hear how hard her heart was beating. “We wouldn’t want your phone to ring and there’s no one here to answer it.” He then quickly stood up straight.

“Okay?” Marinette whispered and slowly stood up to follow him.

That was when Tim took her hand and she was bewildered for a moment but smiled happily at their joined hands. She was more than happy to hold hands with him. She was beginning to really like the feeling of butterflies in her stomach.

And then Tim began to walk her over to the elevator. She was confused for a moment because she thought he was going to take her to his office but she was still okay with these turn of events.

As she passed them, Marinette looked over to Bruce and Dick to gauge their reactions to this. Dick was smiling in what she thinks is encouragement and Bruce was nodding, as if he expected this. It was all so strange to her. And then they were in the elevator and Tim pressed the button for the ground floor.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

Tim looked like he was about to answer but then he suddenly looked up into the top corner of the elevator.

Marinette followed his line of sight and found the security camera. She knew what that meant. He wanted to give them some real privacy and she was completely okay with this. In fact, her gut was telling her to follow him wherever he was taking them and so she smiled back at him in understanding.

When they made it to the ground floor, Tim began to walk her through the ground floor lobby. Marinette noticed all the strange looks people sent their way but she wasn’t all that bothered by it because her gut was telling her something amazing was happening.

Tim then guided her through a back door into a small parking garage where a beautiful all black car was parked. He walked her straight up to it and opened the passenger door for her with a smile.

“This is your car?”

“Technically it’s Bruce’s.” Tim shrugged nonchalantly. “But I drive it more often than he does.”

“Am I allowed to even be in this car?”

“Yes, Marinette.” Tim laughed. “Why else would I be holding the door open for you?”

“…Okay.” Marinette smiled before ducking into the car.

Tim shut the door behind her and Marinette put her seatbelt on as she watched Tim walk at a leisurely pace to the drivers’ side. Once he was in, he sped out of the parking garage at a blinding speed. As they drove, Marinette kept eyeing the speedometer. She didn’t know why he was in such a big rush but she couldn’t bring herself to ask. She was too excited to be here with him.

And then they finally came to a stop. Marinette looked around and found herself at an old dock. Surely this was the most quiet place in Gotham. She should be worried that he brought her to such an empty place but she wasn’t. Her gut was telling her that wonderful things were about to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this isn't my best chapter and I'm sure there is a lot wrong with it. Still, I felt like I had to get this chapter out there so I can properly continue the story. I hope someone out there enjoyed it though.


	6. Chapter 6

Tim turned off the engine and hopped out of the vehicle. By the time he made it to the front of the car, Marinette had already stepped out so he decided to wait for her. She came to a stop just a few inches beside him and he quickly took her hand to lead her all the way over to the old dock.

At the very tip of the dock Tim let go of her hand to face her and noticed the confusion on her face as she looked around at their surroundings.

“These docks have been abandoned for years now.” Tim clarified.

“I see.” Marinette nods before looking back at him to smile sweetly, like she was waiting for him to speak.

“This would have been a whole lot simpler if I would have met you at a coffee shop or randomly on the street. Hell, I would even be okay with you being one of those crazy Instagram stalkers.” Tim sighed.

Marinette just kept her sweet smile, still waiting for him to collect his thoughts. He was grateful for her patience with this strange interaction. Tim had a million different things he wanted to say and a million different questions he wanted to ask. He decided to start off something simple though. Something that would get her talking.

“In your interview you said you were good at reading people? You said you were observant.”

“I did.”

“Well… what do you read off of me?” Tim asked. He wanted to know what she was thinking.

“You’re…” She thought for a moment. “You always look like you are thinking about something very important. There is an intensity about your eyes I find admirable. I see it sometimes when you are working.” She then smiles. “And you are also very professional. Well you were very professional. It seems that today you have decided to throw that professionalism out the window.”

She really was observant, Tim realized. It made him laugh at how easily she saw through him. “One week. One measly week my little charade of professionalism lasted. I wonder which of my brothers’ one their little bet…”

Marinette smiled even brighter at that. “Why act professional if you didn’t want to in the first place?”

“I didn’t want to disappoint Bruce. After all, our workplace is meant for working.”

She giggled at that. “And here we are on a Monday morning at the docks when we should be at work. Do you think Mr. Wayne will be mad at me?” Marinette suddenly frowned.

“No.” Tim quickly shook his head. “You did nothing wrong.”

“Will he be mad at you?” She looked even sadder for him.

“It takes a lot to make Bruce mad. He knew how I really felt. If anything he might be slightly disappointed but when we left it didn’t seem that way. I think we’ll be okay.”

“How you really felt?” Marinette questioned. “Does this have something to do with you talking to your family about me? Dick said you talk about me all the time. Why?”

“You are intriguing and beautiful, Marinette.” Tim answered honestly and it felt so freeing to say to her. He looked deeply into her eyes to make sure his point got across. “Your beauty is a given though. But your whole story? I want to hear more about it. The fact that you put all of this time into fashion and design and then when you found your plans not working out, you completely changed everything. I mean, blindfolding yourself and throwing a dart at a map to just… move? It takes an insane amount of courage to follow through with something like that. Especially knowing where you would be moving to. And then there are the little things.” Tim smiled when he saw her blush. “The confidence you have with every little thing you do. The bright smile you give me every morning at work. The way your eyes look when you seem to be concentrating on something. And then there’s the blush you have right now.” He reached out to touch her cheek but quickly let his hand fall before he did. “There’s not a single thing about you that doesn’t completely encaptivate me, Marinette.”

“Wow.” Marinette quickly looked down at her shoes. “So you like me?” She peeked up at him through her lashes.

“Yes.” Tim smiled and his hands fidgeted to try and reach out to her. In the end, he couldn’t fight it. He lightly stroked her cheek as he continued. “I suppose that’s an apt description.”

“And here I though having a crush on my boss was stupid on my part.” She sighed in relief before smiling shyly up at him, slightly leaning into his touch. “Turns out he likes me too. Lucky me.”

“How could I not like you?” Tim sighs in relief too before finally dropping his hand. The way she so willingly accepted his touch was exhilarating but he didn’t want to push it.

“The last crush I had didn’t really like me that way.” Marinette shrugged awkwardly.

“Well I am nothing like that blind fool, whoever they are.”

And then Marinette giggled at that and Tim couldn’t hold back the brilliant smile that came across his face. He finally got to hear his favorite sound. When she stopped laughing, she looked back up at him and stared in awe.

“Why are you smiling at me like that?” She whispered.

“No reason. I just like hearing you laugh. It’s a beautiful sound.”

“Oh.” She blushed deeply. “You speak your mind a lot, don’t you?”

“When I feel the information is relevant.” Tim shrugged. “Why, are you bothered by that?” He was suddenly worried.

“No.” She quickly shook her head. “I like your honesty. It’s refreshing.”

“In that case,” Tim quickly grabbed ahold of both of her hands, careful not to disturb her bandage. “I’ll be as honest as I can.”

Marinette smiled down at their joined hands before looking back up into his eyes. “I guess I should be honest too.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said all of these things you like about me and I guess I should be honest and tell you all the things I like about you.” She blushed down at their hands. “But I know my words won’t be as pretty as yours.” Marinette grinned. “And I feel like you have had more time to think about it than me. I was always worried to think too much about how I felt because you are my boss. I guess that doesn’t really matter anymore though, does it? We have everything out in the open now.”

“I guess we do.” Tim’s heart was suddenly pounding harder than it was before, which surprised him. Her next words were something he wanted to remember forever.

“When I first saw you one of the first things I noticed about you was your eyes. I’ve never seen such a beautiful and clear blue before. And when you looked at me on my first day I just… wow. I can look into your eyes forever, I swear.” Marinette blushed even deeper. “And then when I would bring you your coffee I would sometimes catch you staring at something in concentration. And the way your hair would sometimes fall into your eyes? I don’t know why but that gives me butterflies. I really like your hair. It’s the most relaxed thing about you while at work. It hints at your true age and it’s nice to see. The suits are very nice though.” She nods as she looks Tim up in down in appraisement. It gave him a strange surge of confidence. “Oh!” Marinette then looked into his eyes like she remembered something. “And I learned some new things today that I like about you.”

“Like what?” Tim asked with a bright smile.

“I like the cute way you look at me now. That look that you are giving me?” She let go of one of Tim’s hands to boop him lightly on the nose. “It’s adorable.”

Her boldness shocked Tim for a moment but he found himself smiling brightly at her again. That small playful act made his heart go wild. “I believe you are mistaken on who the adorable one between us is. That was very cute, all of those things you said about me.”

“If you say so, Timmy.” Marinette playfully rolls her eyes.

“Ah, so you’ve picked up on the nickname my family has given me, have you Nettie?” Tim took his free hand to gently grab Marinette’s chin and lift her face up towards him.

“I have. It’s cute. And Nettie?” She smiled. “Have you been talking to uncle Jagged?”

“Only the one time.” Tim shrugged as he moved his hand to lightly run his thumb across her cheekbone. “Don’t you think Nettie and Timmy go well together?”

“I do, actually.”

Tim was about to lean down towards her but stopped himself. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

He wanted to ask to kiss her but he chickened out at the last second. He was getting a little too ahead of himself. He decided to go with a different question he was meaning to ask. “Do you want to go on a date with me sometime? Maybe a dinner or a movie?”

“Why don’t we go right now?” She asked in return. “We can leave this creepy old dock you dragged me to.” She joked.

“Deal.” Tim smiles before quickly grabbing her hand to walk her back to the car. “And sorry about the creepy dock. This was just the only place I could think of where we would have privacy.”

“I know.” Marinette giggles. “I’m just messing with you. If you took me here to kill me I would know how to defend myself. After all, I did fend off one crazy person with a knife today.”

“That, you did.” Tim laughed. “Remind me to never mess with you.” He joked.

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter should be a little bit better than the last. At least I hope....


	7. Chapter 7

Tim turned off the engine and hopped out of the vehicle. By the time he made it to the front of the car, Marinette had already stepped out so he decided to wait for her. She came to a stop just a few inches beside him and he quickly took her hand to lead her all the way over to the old dock.

At the very tip of the dock Tim let go of her hand to face her and noticed the confusion on her face as she looked around at their surroundings.

“These docks have been abandoned for years now.” Tim clarified.

“I see.” Marinette nods before looking back at him to smile sweetly, like she was waiting for him to speak.

“This would have been a whole lot simpler if I would have met you at a coffee shop or randomly on the street. Hell, I would even be okay with you being one of those crazy Instagram stalkers.” Tim sighed.

Marinette just kept her sweet smile, still waiting for him to collect his thoughts. He was grateful for her patience with this strange interaction. Tim had a million different things he wanted to say and a million different questions he wanted to ask. He decided to start off something simple though. Something that would get her talking.

“In your interview you said you were good at reading people? You said you were observant.”

“I did.”

“Well… what do you read off of me?” Tim asked. He wanted to know what she was thinking.

“You’re…” She thought for a moment. “You always look like you are thinking about something very important. There is an intensity about your eyes I find admirable. I see it sometimes when you are working.” She then smiles. “And you are also very professional. Well you were very professional. It seems that today you have decided to throw that professionalism out the window.”

She really was observant, Tim realized. It made him laugh at how easily she saw through him. “One week. One measly week my little charade of professionalism lasted. I wonder which of my brothers’ one their little bet…”

Marinette smiled even brighter at that. “Why act professional if you didn’t want to in the first place?”

“I didn’t want to disappoint Bruce. After all, our workplace is meant for working.”

She giggled at that. “And here we are on a Monday morning at the docks when we should be at work. Do you think Mr. Wayne will be mad at me?” Marinette suddenly frowned.

“No.” Tim quickly shook his head. “You did nothing wrong.”

“Will he be mad at you?” She looked even sadder for him.

“It takes a lot to make Bruce mad. He knew how I really felt. If anything he might be slightly disappointed but when we left it didn’t seem that way. I think we’ll be okay.”

“How you really felt?” Marinette questioned. “Does this have something to do with you talking to your family about me? Dick said you talk about me all the time. Why?”

“You are intriguing and beautiful, Marinette.” Tim answered honestly and it felt so freeing to say to her. He looked deeply into her eyes to make sure his point got across. “Your beauty is a given though. But your whole story? I want to hear more about it. The fact that you put all of this time into fashion and design and then when you found your plans not working out, you completely changed everything. I mean, blindfolding yourself and throwing a dart at a map to just… move? It takes an insane amount of courage to follow through with something like that. Especially knowing where you would be moving to. And then there are the little things.” Tim smiled when he saw her blush. “The confidence you have with every little thing you do. The bright smile you give me every morning at work. The way your eyes look when you seem to be concentrating on something. And then there’s the blush you have right now.” He reached out to touch her cheek but quickly let his hand fall before he did. “There’s not a single thing about you that doesn’t completely encaptivate me, Marinette.”

“Wow.” Marinette quickly looked down at her shoes. “So you like me?” She peeked up at him through her lashes.

“Yes.” Tim smiled and his hands fidgeted to try and reach out to her. In the end, he couldn’t fight it. He lightly stroked her cheek as he continued. “I suppose that’s an apt description.”

“And here I though having a crush on my boss was stupid on my part.” She sighed in relief before smiling shyly up at him, slightly leaning into his touch. “Turns out he likes me too. Lucky me.”

“How could I not like you?” Tim sighs in relief too before finally dropping his hand. The way she so willingly accepted his touch was exhilarating but he didn’t want to push it.

“The last crush I had didn’t really like me that way.” Marinette shrugged awkwardly.

“Well I am nothing like that blind fool, whoever they are.”

And then Marinette giggled at that and Tim couldn’t hold back the brilliant smile that came across his face. He finally got to hear his favorite sound. When she stopped laughing, she looked back up at him and stared in awe.

“Why are you smiling at me like that?” She whispered.

“No reason. I just like hearing you laugh. It’s a beautiful sound.”

“Oh.” She blushed deeply. “You speak your mind a lot, don’t you?”

“When I feel the information is relevant.” Tim shrugged. “Why, are you bothered by that?” He was suddenly worried.

“No.” She quickly shook her head. “I like your honesty. It’s refreshing.”

“In that case,” Tim quickly grabbed ahold of both of her hands, careful not to disturb her bandage. “I’ll be as honest as I can.”

Marinette smiled down at their joined hands before looking back up into his eyes. “I guess I should be honest too.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said all of these things you like about me and I guess I should be honest and tell you all the things I like about you.” She blushed down at their hands. “But I know my words won’t be as pretty as yours.” Marinette grinned. “And I feel like you have had more time to think about it than me. I was always worried to think too much about how I felt because you are my boss. I guess that doesn’t really matter anymore though, does it? We have everything out in the open now.”

“I guess we do.” Tim’s heart was suddenly pounding harder than it was before, which surprised him. Her next words were something he wanted to remember forever.

“When I first saw you one of the first things I noticed about you was your eyes. I’ve never seen such a beautiful and clear blue before. And when you looked at me on my first day I just… wow. I can look into your eyes forever, I swear.” Marinette blushed even deeper. “And then when I would bring you your coffee I would sometimes catch you staring at something in concentration. And the way your hair would sometimes fall into your eyes? I don’t know why but that gives me butterflies. I really like your hair. It’s the most relaxed thing about you while at work. It hints at your true age and it’s nice to see. The suits are very nice though.” She nods as she looks Tim up in down in appraisement. It gave him a strange surge of confidence. “Oh!” Marinette then looked into his eyes like she remembered something. “And I learned some new things today that I like about you.”

“Like what?” Tim asked with a bright smile.

“I like the cute way you look at me now. That look that you are giving me?” She let go of one of Tim’s hands to boop him lightly on the nose. “It’s adorable.”

Her boldness shocked Tim for a moment but he found himself smiling brightly at her again. That small playful act made his heart go wild. “I believe you are mistaken on who the adorable one between us is. That was very cute, all of those things you said about me.”

“If you say so, Timmy.” Marinette playfully rolls her eyes.

“Ah, so you’ve picked up on the nickname my family has given me, have you Nettie?” Tim took his free hand to gently grab Marinette’s chin and lift her face up towards him.

“I have. It’s cute. And Nettie?” She smiled. “Have you been talking to uncle Jagged?”

“Only the one time.” Tim shrugged as he moved his hand to lightly run his thumb across her cheekbone. “Don’t you think Nettie and Timmy go well together?”

“I do, actually.”

Tim was about to lean down towards her but stopped himself. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

He wanted to ask to kiss her but he chickened out at the last second. He was getting a little too ahead of himself. He decided to go with a different question he was meaning to ask. “Do you want to go on a date with me sometime? Maybe a dinner or a movie?”

“Why don’t we go right now?” She asked in return. “We can leave this creepy old dock you dragged me to.” She joked.

“Deal.” Tim smiles before quickly grabbing her hand to walk her back to the car. “And sorry about the creepy dock. This was just the only place I could think of where we would have privacy.”

“I know.” Marinette giggles. “I’m just messing with you. If you took me here to kill me I would know how to defend myself. After all, I did fend off one crazy person with a knife today.”

“That, you did.” Tim laughed. “Remind me to never mess with you.” He joked.

“Deal.”

7  
Tim ran through all the places he could take her in his mind as he held the car door open for her to get in. In the end he decided to take her to a quiet little Italian place on the south side. After all, he’s seen many couples there before. It seemed like his best bet.

As he drove he couldn’t help but to look over at her periodically and each time he did, he found that she was already looking at him. It made his heart race. He wasn’t used to this new sense of freedom they had with each other but he was glad to be out of the boss/employee dynamic for however much time they got.

When they got there, they were seated and served very quickly. They made a bit of small talk while they waited for their food to arrive and once it did, Tim found that the conversation came easily. He wasn’t surprised though. It would be odd if he had a hard time communicating with his future wife.

“So what made you finally decide to no longer be professional with me?” Marinette asked before taking a bite of her food.

“It felt like…” Tim remembered back to his dream about her and smiled. There was no doubt in his mind he would marry her someday. “Fighting against gravity, you know? It felt like I was doing the exact opposite thing of what I should be doing. Now I just feel so… free.”

“Wow… am I dreaming?”

“No.” Tim chucked. “Why would you think that?”

“Because I thought the exact same thing. That feeling of gravity? I felt it too.”

“Really?” He asked, dumbfounded. “Well I’m glad I’m not saying the wrong things.”

“…You know you’ve really made me happy that I came to Gotham. You and I both know that moving here on a whim was a scary idea. I was just so… lost. I felt so unlucky but I realize now that all my prior let downs were leading me to something great. They were leading me to you.”

“I’m glad you found me.” Tim smiled. “Because I’ve been looking for you for what feels like a very long time.”

“Why me?” She asked genuinely.

“I… don’t know. Could be a multitude of reasons. But I think the main thing is that you are the woman of my dreams.” Tim said without skipping a beat.

“Oh, please.” Marinette blushed as she rolled her eyes. “What cheesy movie did you steal that line from?”

“You think I’m the kind of guy to steal pickup lines from cheesy movies?”

“No, I guess not.” She smiles. “You don’t seem like the kind of guy who uses pickup lines at all.”

“I guess that’s true.” Tim nods. “But mainly because I never find myself flirting with people.”

“But I’m the exception.” Marinette grins.

“You are.” He grins back.

It’s quiet for a moment as they smile at each other but eventually Marinette speaks up again.

“So tell me about the real you, Tim.”

“Hmm…” Tim thinks for a moment. “Well I graduated from college at 19 and I’ve been working with Bruce at WE since I was 17. I was an only child before my parents died but now I’m the second youngest of all of my siblings. Is there anything in particular you want to know?”

“Of course there is. Like what’s your favorite color and what’s your favorite food? What’s your favorite genre of music? What’s your favorite place you have ever been?”

Tim couldn’t help but to smile at her enthusiasm. “My favorite color is green and my favorite food is sushi. I listen to literally all kinds of music so it would be hard to pick a favorite. I like Jagged though and I know you are good friends with him. And my favorite place? I’ve been to Fiji before and that place is beautiful. But what about you? What’s your favorite… everything.”

“Well,” Marinette smiles. “My favorite color is pink and my favorite food is macaroons. My favorite music is rock, obviously. I haven’t been to many places but my favorite would be the rooftops of Paris. That city can be so beautiful from up there. Back home I used to sit on top of my roof all the time to just watch the city and relax. It makes me wish that my apartment had easy rooftop access but that door is always locked. I guess that’s a safely thing though…”

Tim smiled, finally happy with learning new things about her. “So you’re the kind of girl who enjoys a good view?”

“I guess you could say that. Though I’m no longer in a fashion or design career, I still like to take inspiration from things around me.” She then suddenly blushed scarlet.

“Why are you blushing?” Tim asked, intrigued by the sudden change.

“You promise not to think I’m weird?”

“Of course, Marinette.”

“Okay, well…” She looks down at her food for a moment. “I was just thinking about the most recent thing that inspired me and it was you… your eyes, I mean.”

“My… eyes?” Tim asked, dumbfounded.

“Yeah.” She finally looked back into his eyes. “The color and the intensity… It inspired me to sketch out a few things I think you would look good in. Kind of weird to do that to your boss, huh?”

“No.” Tim smiled softly. “If I had any talent in design I’m sure I would make something based off of you. Anything inspired by you would surely be beautiful.”

“Really?”

“Without a doubt. It’s like I said. You are beautiful and intriguing.”

Marinette smiled shyly before taking another bite of her food, causing Tim to do the same. After a while, Marinette spoke up again.

“This might sound a little weird and out of nowhere, but I think it wasn’t a coincidence that I came to Gotham. I think it was fate that I met you. I have this… gut feeling that we were supposed to meet.”

“Fate…” Tim nods. “Yes I suppose that’s the best way to describe this. I don’t believe it to be weird. It’s like I said, you’re the woman of my dreams.”

“You keep saying things like that to me and I might just end up having heart problems.” Marinette says jokingly.

“Hmm…” Tim smiles. “I wonder…”

“You wonder what?”

“If simple words make your heart race, I wonder what you would do if we did other things.” Tim thought aloud.

“Oh…” Marinette quickly went red but smiled nonetheless as she pushed her empty plate aside. She put both her arms on the table and leaned closer to him from across the table. “Got any theories?”

Tim was shocked by her forwardness but happy with these turn of events. “None, actually.” He pushed his food aside and mirrored her. “I’d love to find out though.”

Marinette looked shyly down at the table for a moment before seemingly steeling herself. She then reached out across the table and grabbed ahold of Tim’s collar of his jacket to pull him in for a kiss. Tim didn’t even have to time to be shocked and instead took the time to bask in the glory of this sudden kiss.

Tim felt absolutely electrified by this kiss. Every single nerve in his body was brought to life as he reached up to gently stroke her cheek and with doing this, Marinette deepened the kiss even more. Tim knew right then and there that he would do anything to get the opportunity to do this again. Anything.

And then Marinette pulled away and Tim opened his eyes again. It was like the world was suddenly brighter, almost as if a veil he didn’t know was there was suddenly lifted. The way she shyly smiled at him hand his heart beating erratically. He was on cloud nine.

“Yep.” She whispered. “My heart is going crazy.”

“Mine too.” Tim whispered back.

“I can’t believe I did that.” Marinette giggled.

“Me either. Have any idea why you did? Because I would love to get that reaction from you more often.”

“Uhh, it was just kind of a gut feeling. Came out of nowhere, really.” She took a deep breath. “I’m still trying to restart my heart.”

“Me too. That was exhilarating.”

And then the waitress suddenly came to the table with the check, forcing both Tim and Marinette to sit back normally in their seats. In all honesty, Tim hadn’t even realized how close they really were. He quickly pulled out his wallet and paid before the waitress had the opportunity to leave.

“I guess I should take you back to work, huh?”

Marinette pulled out her phone to take a look at the time and nodded. “We still have two hour left of work. At least we won’t miss a whole day.”

Tim smiled before standing up. “You ready to go?”

“Yep.” Marinette quickly stood up too. “We should do this again sometime… but maybe not on a week day.”

“I’ll take you out Saturday night then. We can do whatever you want.”

“Sounds good to me.”


End file.
